Despite a series of highly volatile line-up changes, group founder/nucleus Davide Tiso has ensured there's always been a surprising amount of consistency to be found throughout Ephel Duath's discography. "Through My Dog's Eyes", a concept album based on seeing life well... through a dog's eyes, is a seemingly ridiculous subject to base an album around, but it's one that Tiso has approached seriously.

Littered with blunt and absurd lyrical content, the vocals are often a bit too corny to fully take seriously. This wouldn't be that much of a problem had the rest of the band drowned themselves in the frenetic and highly experimental jazz metal hybrid the group have come to be known for. But with "Through My Dog's Eyes", much of the layers have been stripped away, offering only a crisp and raw take of what was once a deeply rich cornucopia of sound.

To be sure the prog/jazz influence is still present throughout, but without that distinct over the top flair to it, much of it just sounds repetitive and bland. It's truly a shame given the caliber of musicians involved that this album pretty much falls flat. Sure it's an interesting listen overall and the slide guitar parts especially make for some captivating moments. But given the overwhelming amount of off-timed drudgery and undercooked ideas served up here, it's only so long before the listener steps in what comes through a dog's behind.